President Barack Obama laughs while being greeted by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, left, after arriving at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, Tuesday, May 25, 2010. President Obama will spend Tuesday night in San Francisco to attend a pair of fundraisers with Sen. Barbara Boxer, then head to nearby Fremont, Calif., on Wednesday to tour a solar facility and make remarks on the economy.

Photo: Eric Risberg, Associated Press

President Barack Obama laughs while being greeted by San Francisco...

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SEATTLE, WA - FILE: Wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey #85 of the Oakland Raiders looks on prior to the game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on September 2, 2011 in Seattle, Washington. According to reports on May 10, 2012, Heyward-Bey has been charged with drunken driving following an arrest last month on April 7 on the Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland, California. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Photo: Otto Greule Jr, Getty Images

SEATTLE, WA - FILE: Wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey #85 of the...

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Tyler and Tolan Florence are seen at El Paseo in Mill Valley, Calif., of Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012.

President Obama's position on same-sex marriages has indeed been "evolving" - back in 2004, he wouldn't even have his photo taken with Gavin Newsom, for fear that being pictured with the man who opened the City Hall wedding chapel to gays and lesbians would cost him votes back home in Illinois.

At the time, Obama was a mere state senator from Chicago looking to win a seat in the U.S. Senate. Like a lot of up-and-coming African American pols, he tapped Willie Brownto host a fundraiser here to score some badly needed cash.

Brown tossed a party at the Waterfront Restaurant, which turned out to be the biggest moneymaker in Obama's swing through California.

Naturally, Brown invited then-Mayor Newsom, who was taking fire even from some fellow Democrats for having defied state law by allowing same-sex couples to marry at City Hall.

Obama's handlers let it be known that they would appreciate it if there were no pictures of Obama and Newsom together.

"They said they were concerned about how it might play out in the southern part" of Illinois, Brown recalled.

And it didn't end there. When Obama was running for president, he and Newsom found themselves at the same fundraiser twice - and on both occasions, Obama did not get within 10 feet of the mayor.

As for the president's change of heart: "I'm proud of him," said now-Lt. Gov. Newsom. "There's a lot of courage being shown by doing this."

The "ask": Assembly Speaker John Pérez has put out the word to fellow Democratic lawmakers that he expects them each to raise $32,000 for the party this election year - with $5,000 to $10,000 set aside to help Gov. Jerry Brown's tax-increase campaign.

Pérez made the "ask" - as they call it in politics - during one-on-one meetings at an office outside the state Capitol.

"The phone rang, and we were summoned. And just before you went in, they let you know that they knew just how much money you had raised for yourself so far and where it came from," said one Democratic lawmaker, who asked not to be named because he doesn't want to find himself working out of a closet.

And while the "ask" may sound steep, remember that tickets to Pérez's annual "Speakers Cup" golf tournament at Pebble Beach went for $65,000 each.

Pérez's Capitol office declined to comment on the fundraising, saying it was strictly an outside political operation.

What's cooking: Try as they may, the hot 100 California chefs hoping to stave off the July 1 ban on foie gras have come up short.

For months, chefs including Tyler Florence andThomas Keller and their lobbying team searched the halls of the state Capitol for someone - anyone - to author new standards for the "ethical and humane" production of foie gras.

The legislative leadership, however, made it clear that trying to sell animal-friendly lawmakers on a nice way to overfeed geese so their livers would blow up was a no-go.

Plus, the ban taking effect this summer - which was passed seven years ago - was one of the most contentious issues the Legislature has dealt with in the past decade. No one wanted a new flood of e-mails and phone calls.

Add in state Democratic Chairman John Burton's threaten to shove dry oatmeal "down their throats over and over and over again" - and you have the recipe for a nonstarter.

Tackled: The attorney for Darrius Heyward-Bey, the Oakland Raiders wide receiver charged with drunken driving on the Bay Bridge, says his client will contest the accuracy of the California Highway Patrol's Breathalyzer test in court.

"There have been some cases of players shooting up nightclubs and doing all sorts of bad things, and he isn't that guy," attorney Ivan Goldesaid Friday. "He is a good guy."

Golde says Heyward-Bey was driving home to the San Ramon area from the MatrixFillmore club in San Francisco when he was pulled over on the lower deck at 2 a.m. April 7. His blood-alcohol level was over the 0.08 percent legal limit, the CHP says.

"We're not going to give anything up - we're going to do an exhaustive investigation," Golde said.

And with good reason. Besides the legal consequences, a conviction could carry an NFL suspension or fine.